02 Mar

Damian Sylvia Posted in Life Insurance No comments

Annual Tax Guide – A Guide to 2022 Tax Law Changes (Part 3)

In this 3-part tax guide, we will explore where your tax dollars go, some of the ways tax filing may look different in 2022, and what you can do to prepare. Keep in mind, this guide is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for real-life advice, so make sure to consult your tax, legal, and accounting professionals before modifying your strategy.

If you missed part 1 (here) or part 2 (here) of this series, check those out first. Part 3 is below.

Preparing (Well-In-Advance) for the Tax Season

Planning well in advance of the tax season may help better prepare you for the unexpected. Here are several reasons to begin planning early:

Your home, job, or relationships changed in 2021
You need to start saving money if you may owe taxes
You want to ensure you qualify for tax deductions

You can make changes throughout the year to ensure that your tax preparations go smoothly.

In particular, you can make periodic assessments of your paycheck withholdings so that you will get a refund or can reduce or eliminate your tax burden.

15 Feb

Damian Sylvia Posted in General No comments

Annual Tax Guide – A Guide to 2022 Tax Law Changes (Part 2)

In this 3-part guide, we will explore where your tax dollars go, some of the ways tax filing may look different in 2022, and what you can do to prepare. Keep in mind, this guide is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for real-life advice, so make sure to consult your tax, legal, and accounting professionals before modifying your strategy.

Get a checkup: As a starter, the I.R.S. urges taxpayers to conduct paycheck checkups.

The agency provides tools and resources to help you calculate the correct amount to have withdrawn
from your paycheck.

The calculator may help you determine if your employer is withholding adequate amounts from
your paycheck.

The calculator asks for your projected gross income, your current withholding number, the current amount of federal taxes withheld, and other paycheck-related questions.

The calculator leads you through various screens that require you to enter the requested numbers into boxes. The calculator looks similar to a tax-filing form.

The final figure: Once the calculator generates the estimated taxes you can expect to owe or be refunded, it offers suggestions on how to change your withholding amount or request that additional money be withheld from your check.

If the calculator shows you are projected to owe taxes at the end of the year, you may file a new Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, following the guidance provided by the calculator. The IRS-provided calculator is designed to provide feedback based on certain assumptions. It is not intended to provide specific tax, legal, or accounting advice. The calculator is not a replacement for real-life advice,
so please make sure to consult a professional before modifying your tax strategy.⁵

Suggestions may include changing the number of allowances you are claiming or requesting that your employer withhold additional money.

Taxpayers who receive pension income may use Form W-4P.Once completed, send the form to your payer if you are making changes.⁶

09 Feb

Damian Sylvia Posted in General No comments

Annual Tax Guide – A Guide to 2022 Tax Law Changes (Part 1)

Understand Where Your Federal Tax Dollars Go

In this 3-part guide, we will explore where your tax dollars go, some of the ways tax filing may look different in 2022, and what you can do to prepare. Keep in mind, this guide is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for real-life advice, so make sure to consult your tax, legal, and accounting professionals before modifying your strategy.

Before we dive into the upcoming tax brackets and what you can do to prepare for 2022, it can be helpful to understand precisely where the government allocates your federal tax dollars.

In 2021, the federal government spent $6.82 trillion, which equals 30% of the nation’s gross domestic product. Further examination reveals that three significant areas of spending make up the majority of the budget.¹

03 Jan

Damian Sylvia Posted in General No comments

Wise Decisions with Retirement in Mind

Some retirees succeed at realizing the life they want; others don’t. Fate aside, it isn’t merely a matter of investment decisions that makes the difference. There are certain dos and don’ts – some less apparent than others – that tend to encourage retirement happiness and comfort.

Retire financially literate. Some retirees don’t know how much they don’t know. They end their careers with inadequate financial knowledge, and yet, feel they can prepare for retirement on their own. They mistake creating a retirement income strategy with the whole of preparing for retirement, and gloss over longevity risk, risks to their estate, and potential health care expenses. The more you know, the more your retirement readiness improves.

14 Dec

Damian Sylvia Posted in General No comments

Managing Money as a Couple

When you marry or simply share a household with someone, your financial life changes—and your approach to managing your money may change as well. The good news is that it is usually not so difficult.

At some point, you will have to ask yourselves some money questions—questions that pertain not only to your shared finances but also to your individual finances. Waiting too long to ask (or answer) those questions might carry a price. In the 2019 TD Bank Love & Money survey of consumers who said they were in relationships, 40% of younger couples described having weekly arguments about their finances.¹

01 Dec

Damian Sylvia Posted in Retirement No comments

Your Year-End Financial Checklist

The end of the year can help remind us of last-minute things we need to address and the goals we want to pursue. To that end, here are some aspects of your financial life to think about as this year leads into the next.

Keep in mind, this article is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for real-life advice. Make certain to contact a tax or legal professional before modifying your tax strategy. The ideas presented are not intended to provide specific advice.

11 Nov

Damian Sylvia Posted in Retirement No comments

401(k) Millionaires

Your workplace retirement account can play a critical role in your overall retirement strategy. However, some have gone further with the accounts than others, especially recently.

CNBC reported on findings that place 401(k) accounts at all-time highs, with some even joining the much-desired “two comma club” of 401(k) millionaires. Average 401(k) balances jumped 24% from the previous year to $129,300. Also on the rise were overall contributions, with 12% increasing their contributions since last year and 37% of employers placing new employees into workplace plans. The study discovered a record 412,000 401(k) plans with million-dollar balances; overall Individual Retirement Account (IRA) millionaires reached 342,000, another record.¹

04 Nov

Damian Sylvia Posted in General No comments

Are Capital Gains Taxes Changing?

There are a lot of questions about President Biden’s Build Back Better plan and potential tax law changes, including an adjustment to capital gains taxes.

18 Oct

Damian Sylvia Posted in Retirement No comments

The Social Security Administration Announces 2022 COLA

On October 13, 2021, the Social Security Administration (SSA) officially announced that Social Security recipients will receive a 5.9 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2022, the largest increase in four decades. This adjustment will begin with benefits payable to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2022. Additionally, increased payments to more than […]

21 Sep

Damian Sylvia Posted in Retirement No comments

2021 Retirement Confidence Survey

Will your retirement dreams match your reality?

That’s perhaps the most critical question to ask people who are currently retired. Was your retirement what you expected, or was it something else?

For more than 30 years, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) has conducted the Retirement Confidence Survey, which gauges the views and attitudes of working-age and retired Americans regarding retirement and their preparations for retirement.¹

Part of the survey takes a deep dive into workers’ expectations for sources of income in retirement versus retirees’ actual income sources.

Here’s a couple of highlights of the 2021 survey.

Retirement Income Solutions

Category: Retirement

Wise Decisions with Retirement in Mind

Managing Money as a Couple

Your Year-End Financial Checklist

Are Capital Gains Taxes Changing?

2021 Retirement Confidence Survey